Expert to aid precision agriculture in NZ

A German expert has joined the scientists at Lincoln Ventures to lead its research efforts into precision agriculture.

Dr Armin Werner was previously the head of the Institute of Land Use Systems at the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research in Muncheberg and also organised a European conference on precision agriculture in Berlin in 2003.

Lincoln Ventures is a subsidiary of Lincoln University and its chief executive, Peter Barrowclough, says now is the right time for the farm-management concept of precision agriculture to develop in New Zealand.

The company searched the world for an expert and found Dr Werner fitted the bill.

"Precision agriculture has been talked about for a while, but now we've got the convergence of rural broadband rollout, more IT systems able to be connected on farms, and a growing awareness of the additional profits and environmental benefits that precision agriculture can bring," says Mr Barrowclough.